Bar Refaeli

Bar Refaeli Mini Biography

Bar Refaeli is an Israeli model. She was the cover model of the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and was voted #1 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 list of 2012. 

Born: June 4, 1985 , Hod HaSharon, Israel

Height: 1.74 m

Full name: Bar Refaeli

Spouse: Arik Weinstein (m. 2003–2005)

Parents: Tzipi Levine, Rafael Refaeli

Movies and TV shows: Entertainment Tonight, Session, Pick Up, Million Dollar Shootingstar

Biography

Refaeli at 18 years old

Bar Refaeli was born into a secular Jewish family, in Hod HaSharon, Israel. Her parents, Rafael and Tzipi, own a horse ranch. Her parents were born in Israel, and her grandparents came from Italy, Lithuania, and Poland. Her mother was a successful model in the 1970s under her maiden name, Tzipi Levine. Refaeli has three brothers.

Previously linked to Baywatch actor David Charvet and Uri El-Natan, Refaeli began a relationship with American actor Leonardo DiCaprio in November 2005 after meeting him at a party in Las Vegas thrown for members of U2. In the course of their trip to Israel in March 2007, the couple met with Israeli president Shimon Peres and visited Refaeli's hometown of Hod HaSharon.The relationship ended in June 2009. Numerous reports, however, indicate that, as of early 2010, the romance may have been rekindled. In May 2011 it was reported that the couple had ended their romantic relationship, although they remain friends.

Her relationship with DiCaprio caused one nationalist Israeli organization to send her a letter, later leaked to the press, in which she was asked, for the sake of "future generations of Jews", not to marry a "non-Jew", a request similar to the one made to Israeli 1998 Miss World winner Linor Abargil, a few years previously.

Refaeli told L'Isha magazine that she prefers to keep a lower profile, but that she is out with DiCaprio much of the time. "I am there for him and I am at all the events", she says. "I just don't walk in hand-in-hand with him. I don't see any reason. I don't need to strike poses with him in front of the cameras. No one needs to know how we kiss.

Film and television career

Refaeli co-starred in the Israeli TV series Pick Up in 2005. In October 2008, she co-hosted the Bravo special program Tommy Hilfiger Presents Ironic Iconic America, based on the book Ironic Iconic America written by George Lois. She returned as a program host in 2009, this time for MTV's brief revival of House of Style.

On 18 January 2011, Refaeli attended the premiere of the English-language movie Session in Israel in which she starred. Directed by Israeli Haim Bouzaglo, the film is a psychological thriller that tells the story of a manipulative psychiatrist who becomes obsessed with a new young patient.

She served as a guest judge on cycle four of Germany's Next Topmodel hosted by Heidi Klum.

In November 2012 she started her own model casting show Million Dollar Shootingstar on German TV Channel Sat.1

Business career

Refaeli at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival

In 2011 Refaeli and Dudi Balsar, an attorney and former male model, set up an E-commerce company called Under.me to sell designer underwear. By November 2011, the company had raised $1 million in venture capital funds

Philanthropy

Refaeli volunteers for Project Sunshine, a non-profit organization providing free services and programs for children facing life-threatening illnesses. She has also volunteered for organization Ahava, which has been caring for pets abandoned in Northern Israel during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.

Refaeli and film director Shahar Segal have agreed to do a free campaign under the slogan "One Bag Less" to reduce the use of plastic bags.

In August 2010, she wrote a special report with the collaboration of Better Place on why she believes that more people should drive electric cars.

On June 7, 2013, Refaeli hosted a beach party in Tel Aviv for participants of the city's gay pride parade. She also posted a photo of herself on social media standing in front of a urinal, with the caption, “Gay, lesbians, bis***al  transgender ALL EQUAL TLV gayweek.

Controversy

In 2007 it was reported that Refaeli had married a family acquaintance and divorced him soon after to avoid military service in the Israel Defense Forces, which is mandatory for both men and women over the age of 18. The Israeli Forum for the Promotion of Equal Share in the Burden threatened to boycott the fashion chain Fox if they hired Refaeli, but the two sides reached a compromise in which Refaeli agreed to visit injured IDF soldiers on visits to Israel and encourage enlistment in the army. Refaeli later stated, "I don't regret not enlisting, because it paid off big time. That's just the way it is, celebrities have other needs. I hope my case has influenced the army". In 2009 fellow Israeli model Esti Ginzburg, while speaking in support of enlisting, criticized Refaeli for her avoidance of military service. In 2011 Refaeli was featured on the cover of Italian GQ's war-themed May 2011 issue.